Pansy Petals

I am so glad spring is on the way; we had a relatively mild winter here in Colorado but there is nothing more relaxing to me than to watch the birds at the feeder doing their thing.  Not so much watching the cats watch the birds but I digress.  This card is inspired by the pansy die {actually, this set is Pansy 2} from Elizabeth Craft Dies.  Be gentle as it is one of my first tries at these 3D flowers; mine don't look quite as good as most, but it was fun to try!

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Yellow Card
Watercolor Paper
Distress Oxides
Distress Markers in Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves and Blueprint Sketch
Die-Versions Whispers, Fence Background, #DVW-314
Elizabeth Craft Designs, Garden Notes - Pansy 2, #1488
Hero Art Fancy Word Dies, Thank You, from My Monthly Hero Kit for March 2018
Shimmery Dark Pink Card
Light Green Card
Distress Sprayer

I know I should have written down what Distress Oxide Inks I used but I've got

so many now I just grab and go.  I wanted the flowers to be a bit whimsical, color wise {and mostly since I know there is no way I could color my pansies to look like real ones!} so I just smooshed all the pink, blue and purple Oxides I had onto a piece of watercolor paper, spritzed them with the sprayer, and kept it fairly easy.  I did color certain parts of the paper with certain colors but, as you can see, some of the colors blended together.  All the colors are pretty and I used all of the paper I'd made.  After all, when you're the designer, your flowers can be any color {or shape} you want them to be!

Once the colored paper was dry and all the pieces were cut, I began assembling the flowers.  I did find a video on YouTube that shows the first pansy set being

made, so I did try to emulate the true style of the flower a little bit.  I put the flowers together by what colors worked together and then used Distress Markers to add little "veins" on the petals.  Honestly, I'm wasn't overly thrilled with them and I almost scrapped the whole thing, but I muted the lines down with a few washes of water and that helped me to like them more.  I cut the leaves out of a pretty, light green, card and then proceeded to fuss and fool with them and the flowers.  I think watercolor card is a bit too thick to properly shape but, if you look closely, you can see where I did bend the flowers.  I only had one stylus {and I've promptly bought a "flower kit" and made my own rubber pad out of two mouse pads glued together, so watch out - I'm ready now!} and actually did most of the shaping with my hands.  

Meanwhile, I cut out the background and attached that to a white card.  After a few days of fussing with the flowers and leaves, I decided they were the best

they were going to be and glued them around the perimeter of the card.  This led me to the dilemma of what to put into the middle.  I had chosen the dark pink shimmer card from my stash already but had no idea what I wanted the card to say.  Then I remembered that Hero Arts My Monthly Hero was sending out some fancy dies, so I rushed to the website, caught a glimpse of the word dies and decided this card would be a thank you card.  The kit didn't arrive until a few days ago and, as soon as I got a chance, I cut the dark pink shimmer card with the pretty Hero Arts dies.  I attached the 'thank you' to the middle of the card and I had my finished card!

I'm not thrilled with the flowers but, for a first time effort {I'm sure I've tried to shape flowers before, but who knows when!}, I think I did OK.  I've since talked to an Instagram friend who has basically told me practice makes perfect; I hate that!  I want to be an expert at shaping flowers, at coloring, at coloring with Copics, and at any other crafty thing I try!  I'm sure you feel the same way.  I want everything to come out like it looks in my head! I think the key is not to expect anything, that way you will like whatever you create.  Thanks for visiting, Christi

I am entering my Pansy Petals card in the following challenges:
ModSquad Challenge - Ready for Spring
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Floral Frenzy
Create a Smile - Springtime
a2z Scrapbooking -M, Anything Goes
Happy Little Stampers Dies Challenge - M, Anything Goes
Inspiration Destination - #146, Anything Goes, Twist: Use Pastel Colors
Die Cuttin' Divas - #361, Flowers
Cuttlebug Mania - Springtime
My Time to Craft - Easter/Spring

Die Cuttin Divas